Despite making a weak start today, shares of Eternal (formerly Zomato) rebounded over 8% in early trade after founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal-led foodtech company reported better than expected earnings for March quarter of FY25. The sentiment was further lifted as analysts remained bullish on the stock, which has maintained uptrend for three sessions.

Early today, Eternal shares opened 4.5% lower at ₹221.90, after ending 0.58% higher on Wednesday. The counter slipped further to ₹220.10 in opening deal. However, the stock staged a smart recovery and rose as much as 2.75% to ₹238.90 on the BSE.

At the time of reporting, shares of Eternal were trading 2.6% higher at ₹238.60, rebounding 8.4% from day’s low level. The market capitalisation of the restaurant aggregator climbed to ₹2.3 lakh crore.

What boosted Eternal stocks?

The strong recovery in Eternal shares was driven by healthy earnings in the fourth quarter, aided by containing quick commerce (QC) losses despite adding 294 dark stores and 1 million square feet warehousing space during January-March period of 2025. Positive ratings from brokerage houses also boosted sentiments.   

Blinkit, the quick commerce arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, maintained strong growth momentum with gross order value (GOV) growth of 20.8% quarter-on-quarter despite persistent sluggishness in the demand environment, temporary shortage of delivery partners owing to high demand, and increased competition from packaged food delivery in QC.

Going ahead, the management expects competitive pressure to intensify in QC from both, existing industry players and e-commerce players investing more in faster delivery, especially in nongrocery categories. The company aims to reach a 2,000 store-count by Dec-25, keeping the loss momentum sustained in the near term.

For Q4 FY25, Zomato reported a 78% year-on-year slump in its net profit at ₹39 crore as compared to ₹175 crore profit in the year-ago period. The food delivery company’s revenue from operations stood at ₹5,833 crore, up 65% from ₹5,405 crore in the same period last year. The consolidated adjusted EBITDA fell 15% YoY to ₹165 crore due to the impact of accelerated store expansion in quick commerce.

Analysts remain bullish post Q4

Post Q4 results, ICICI Securities has maintained ‘BUY’ call on Zomato with a target price of ₹310, saying that QC margin could improve from Q1 FY26. Slowdown in discretionary spending and negative externalities disrupting business operations could be key risks for the company.

Emkay has also retained ‘Buy’ with a price target of ₹290, expecting the stock price to remain range-bound in the near term due to heightened competitive intensity in QC and planned investments in Going-out (to scale it up).

JM Financial has also maintain Buy with an unchanged price at ₹280, saying that it remains “top pick in the hyperlocal delivery space”. The brokerage has revised down our GOV estimates for Zomato (food delivery) by 1-2% over FY26-27 on the back of the broader headwinds for discretionary spends in the country. On the other hand, Blinkit GOV estimates are raised by up to 2% to factor in very strong growth trends in the business, aided by accelerated store expansion.

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